Abstract
The Internet and social media have been often hailed as being the hope for democratic and open spaces of free communication. As such, these technical instruments have become an essential tool of communication and interaction in the twenty-first century. It has revolutionised the way people think and interact with each other, and therefore it is of great research value. An exploratory study is conducted on six groups and communities found on Facebook; half of the groups have a positive view of Russia, whilst the other half hold a negative view. The group dynamics and interactions of communication are studied through a qualitative lens in order to try to understand those important and key narratives of these somewhat insular groups that provide them with a sense of identity and purpose. A focus is made on understanding how these groups shape and create the reputation and brand of Russia within the said Facebook communities.
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Notes
- 1.
Most famous social network sites worldwide as of April 2017, ranked by number of active users (in millions), Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/, April 2017 (accessed 6 June 2017).
- 2.
Balmforth, T., Russian Opposition “Likes” Facebook, RFE/RL, https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-opposition-likes-facebook/24585388.html, 18 May 2012 (accessed 1 June 2017).
- 3.
For a selection of the most recent postings: From 1 June 2017—Alexandrova-Zorina, L., Russia on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Granta, https://granta.com/russia-verge-nervous-breakdown/, 31 May 2017; from 18 May 2017—The Moscow Times, The Kremlin Reportedly Paid $35,000 for an Anti-Protest Music Video, https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/the-kremlin-reportedly-paid-35000-for-an-anti-protest-music-video-58016, 17 May 2017; from 15 May 2017—Lockie, A., An F-35 pilot explains why Russia and China’s counterstealth can’t stop him, Business Insider, http://www.businessinsider.com/f-35-russia-china-radar-counter-stealth-2017-5?IR=T, 15 May 2017; from 14 May 2017—63% of Georgians said Russia is the biggest threat to their country, UA Wire, http://uawire.org/news/63-percent-of-georgians-said-russia-is-the-biggest-threat-to-their-country, 14 May 2017.
- 4.
For a selection of the most recent postings: From 2 June 2017—Whitmore, B., The Daily Vertical: Vladimir Putin, Art Lover (Transcript), RFE/RL, https://www.rferl.org/a/daily-vertical-transcript-vladimir-putin-art-lover/28524628.html, 2 June 2017; from 2 June 2017—Kevin Rothrock, Behold the non-disparagement agreements RT employees are forced to sign. Just wow. Great work by@MoscowTimes. Twitter, https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/870235929100865536, 1 June 2017; from 2 June 2017—Gertz, M., What Megyn Kelly didn’t tell Today show viewers about the “Russian broadcaster” she interviewed, https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/06/01/what-megyn-kelly-didnt-tell-today-show-viewers-about-russian-broadcaster-she-interviewed/216738, 1 June 2017; from 2 June 2017—Rubin, S. & Bekker, T., In Russia, Geography Class Has Heavy Dose Of Patriotism, Vocativ, http://www.vocativ.com/434771/russia-geography-class-patriotism/, 1 June 2017.
- 5.
For a selection of the most recent postings: From 5 May 2017—shared NATO video on wounded Ukrainian service personnel, https://www.facebook.com/NATO/videos/1416506525039341/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE; from 11 April 2017—Shipman, T. & Harnden, T., Russia accused of complicity in Syria war crime, The Times, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/russia-accused-of-complicity-in-syria-war-crime-k6nb0whsk, 9 April 2017; from 31 March 2017—Peterson, N., In Ukraine, Russia Weaponizes Fake News to Fight a Real War, Daily Signal, http://dailysignal.com/2017/03/30/in-ukraine-russia-weaponizes-fake-news-to-fight-a-real-war/, 30 March 2017; from 28 March 2017—shared an RFE/RL Facebook video on new military equipment supplied to the rebel side, https://www.facebook.com/rferl/videos/10155264165349575/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE; from 2 February 2017—shared a post from Edmond Huet “If Russia stops fighting, there will be no more war. If Ukraine stops fighting, there will be no more Ukraine and then no more Europe”, 1 February 2017.
- 6.
Most recent postings observed on 5 June 2017—a photo of a samovar from 5 June 2017; a photo of a Russian police woman is shown from 4 June 2017; 4 June 2017 a blog post on Russian hypersonic missiles is posted, Hussein, S., Russia Successfully Completes Tests of its Brand New Hypersonic Missile, Fort Russ, http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/06/russia-successfully-completes-tests-of.html, 4 June 2017; post from 5 June 2017, Russia Expects Qatar Diplomatic Crisis to be Resolved Peacefully, Russia Beyond the Headlines (from TASS), https://www.rbth.com/news/2017/06/05/russia-expects-qatar-diplomatic-crisis-to-be-resolved-peacefully_776752, 5 June 2017; posting from 5 June 2017, Guzeva, A., 7 Things to Explore at Moscow’s Red Square Beyond the Mausoleum, Russia Beyond the Headlines, https://www.rbth.com/arts/2017/06/05/7-things-to-explore-at-moscows-red-square-beyond-the-mausoleum_775647, 5 June 2017.
- 7.
Most recent postings observed on 5 June 2017—a meme with the caption “when terrorists keep attacking you but NATO says Russia is your main threat” on; Fox news link is shared and ridiculed on 5 June 2017, Shoen, D. E., Senator McCain is Right: Russia is a Greater Threat Than ISIS, Fox News, http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/05/30/senator-mccain-is-right-russia-is-greater-threat-than-isis.html, 30 May 2017.
- 8.
Manchester Suicide—Bomber Family Supposedly Cooperated With UK Intelligence Agencies Against Gadaffi, Geopolitica, https://www.geopolitica.ru/en/news/manchester-suicide-bomber-family-supposedly-cooperated-uk-intelligence-agencies-against-gaddafi, 24 May 2017.
- 9.
Trump: Recognition as Princeps Huius Mundi, Geopolitica, https://www.geopolitica.ru/en/article/trump-recognition-princeps-huius-mundi, 21 May 2017.
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Simons, G. (2020). Russia in International Social Media Discussions: Pro and Contra. In: Davydov, S. (eds) Internet in Russia. Societies and Political Orders in Transition. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33016-3_11
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